CONCATENATE in WPS Spreadsheet: Join Text with Explicit Separators
Join text and single-cell references in WPS Spreadsheet with explicit spaces, fixed labels and blank-field handling.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: CONCATENATE joins text items in the order supplied. =CONCATENATE("Depot","-","07") is expected to return Depot-07. It does not add separators automatically.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: documented by 2019-05-13 in the official WPS lesson; original introduction is not established.
- Availability: WPS Office for Windows Personal; numeric release not identified in the lesson. This is documentation evidence, not an installed-build guarantee.
- Scope: the exact supported build range is unverified. The cited Windows lesson does not establish equivalent availability in other WPS clients.
- Checked: October 14, 2026 against the function-specific lesson and vendor catalogue. Examples were independently calculated; no new native WPS test was performed.
Syntax and the documented item limit
=CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], ...)
The official WPS Windows Personal lesson specifies 1 to 30 items, including strings, numbers and references to individual cells. That is the scope of the cited lesson, not a newly measured limit for every current WPS build. Do not substitute another spreadsheet product’s argument limit without testing the target installation.
Square brackets and the ellipsis describe optional additional items; do not type them. This guide uses explicit single-cell references rather than assuming a whole range is accepted or flattened. The vendor also documents & as an alternative for joining items.
Example 1: join two name fields with a space
Enter A1:B4:
| Row | A: First | B: Last |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First | Last |
| 2 | Mira | Lane |
| 3 | Owen | Park |
| 4 | Lina | Cruz |
In C2 enter and fill down:
=CONCATENATE(A2," ",B2)
Expected C2:C4: Mira Lane, Owen Park, Lina Cruz.
The middle argument is a quoted space. Without it, =CONCATENATE(A2,B2) returns MiraLane for row 2. Formula argument commas separate items in the expression; they do not become commas in the resulting text.
Example 2: include punctuation and a number
Put BX in E2 and the number 7 in F2:
=CONCATENATE(E2,"-",F2)
Expected result: BX-7. If the required code is BX-007, merely formatting F2 to display three digits is not the same as storing the text 007.
For a text-preserving version, put the actual text 007 in G2, keeping its leading zeros, and enter:
=CONCATENATE(E2,"-",G2)
Expected result: BX-007. The TEXT guide covers explicit numeric formatting when the source must remain a number. Decide whether the field is a count or an identifier before choosing its representation.
Example 3: reorder fields without changing their sources
Using Mira and Lane in A2:B2:
=CONCATENATE(B2,", ",A2)
Expected result: Lane, Mira. The comma and following space are supplied inside one quoted item. Neither source cell changes.
The equivalent expression is:
=B2&", "&A2
Both methods make the order and separator visible. Choose one consistent style in a workbook so that future edits are easy to review.
Advanced example: add an optional field only when present
Create these inputs in J1:L3; leave K3 genuinely empty:
| Row | J: First | K: Middle | L: Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First | Middle | Last |
| 2 | Mira | J | Lane |
| 3 | Owen | Park |
In M2 enter and fill down:
=CONCATENATE(J2," ",IF(K2="","",K2&" "),L2)
Expected M2:M3: Mira J Lane, Owen Park.
The IF expression contributes either no text or the middle field plus a trailing space. It avoids leaving a double space when that field is absent. A middle field containing only spaces is not the same input as an empty cell; validate or clean the source according to its rules.
Troubleshooting and limits
If the text runs together, add separators as quoted arguments. If unwanted spaces appear, inspect both the literal separators and the source cells. Joining text does not clean it. A formula that refers to its own output cell creates a circular dependency; keep source and result columns separate.
Dates, percentages and currency require explicit formatting decisions. A joined label is text, even when it contains digits, so do calculations before building the display string. Retain numeric source columns for sorting, totals and charts rather than extracting them later from a sentence.
The reviewed sources do not establish a retirement or removal of CONCATENATE in WPS. Its historical label or another product’s preference for a newer joining function is not evidence that this WPS function stopped working. Check target-build limits before expanding beyond the documented lesson’s item count.
References and verification
- Official WPS CONCATENATE lesson, published 2019-05-13 (Chinese; Windows Personal scope).
- WPS CONCATENATE documentation catalogue.
The lesson establishes the function-specific behavior discussed here. The catalogue confirms its listed identity, not an exact current build range. Expected outputs use original examples checked independently; native execution and broader client compatibility remain unverified.